Silicone rubbers are widely used as elastic material or fiber material in medical devices.
For instance, Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei 2-949 discloses a medical tube introducing device (introducer) used when introducing a medical elongate member, such as a catheter or a guide wire, into a living organism. The introducer has a tubular main body, a cap disposed at one end of the main body, and a valve body located on a path in the tube of the main body and fixed in the state of being clamped between the main body and the cap.
The valve body has a slit in a central portion thereof. The slit is opened when a catheter or the like is inserted in the main body, and the slit is closed when the catheter or the like is pulled out of the main body, to keep blood from flowing out of the introducer. Thus, the valve body must be elastically opened and closed as a consequence of insertion into and withdrawal of the catheter from the introducer. Such a valve body is formed of an elastic material which is pliable and has appropriate strength. As the elastic material, silicone rubbers are widely used because of, for example, their low toxicity to living organisms.